The World's Strongest Engine
Paul Larson |director=David Mitton |producer=Phil Fehrle |narrator= Michael Angelis Alec Baldwin |series=6 |series_no=6.11 |number=141 |released= * 30 September 2002 * 4 November 2002 * 27 January 2003 * 8 March 2003 * 24 February 2004 * 28 March 2005 * 15 September 2006 * 6 September 2009 |previous=Twin Trouble |next=Scaredy Engines}} The World's Strongest Engine is the eleventh episode of the sixth series. Plot Henry ends up having an accident pulling a goods train and is sent to the works to be mended, Diesel is the only spare engine available. The engines are not very happy about this, seeing that they know Diesel is troublesome. The next day, as Diesel is working at the docks, he brags to the trucks that when the Fat Controller sees how good he is at shunting trucks, he will get rid of steam engines once and for all. The trucks tease Diesel over this as he is shunting them, saying how Henry can move more trucks than he can shunt, so he boasts that he will push them all at the same time. Diesel arranges a line of twenty trucks, but soon finds he is unable to move them (unbeknownst to him, a shunter has put the brakes on the trucks, which they already know about). Despite his efforts to move them, the trucks don't move. So he decides to pull the trucks instead. But he pulls so hard that he breaks his coupling from the trucks, runs out of control off the quay and lands onto a barge. Henry, who is now repaired, arrives at the docks with the Fat Controller, who is very cross with Diesel and sends him home in disgrace. Henry then backs up and after the shunter sets the brakes off, he pulls away from the docks, pulling the line of trucks easily and the engines all agree that even trucks can be helpful sometimes, like helping to get rid of Diesel. Characters * Thomas * Henry * Gordon * Percy * Diesel * Troublesome Trucks * Sir Topham Hatt * James * Duck * Oliver * Annie and Clarabel * Farmer Trotter * The Storyteller * Big Mickey Locations * Callan * Gordon's Hill * Tidmouth Sheds * Sodor Slate Quarry * Brendam Docks Trivia * S.S. Vienna from TUGS can be seen. * This episode may have been inspired by the 1989 magazine story, Showing Off". * Some shots of Diesel attempting to move the trucks are sped up. * This episode marks several things for Diesel: ** His first speaking role since the third series episode, Tender Engines. ** His only appearance in the sixth series. ** His first time trying to pull a line of trucks with the brakes on since "Pop Goes the Diesel". ** The last time he was sent away from Sodor. Stories afterwards state he is a permanent resident of Sodor. ** The last episode to feature him as the main character in the Classic Series. He would not have another episode as a main character again until the ninth series episode Flour Power, three years later. * In both the UK and US versions, when Diesel shouts "HELP!" as he falls off the quay, the line is later used for Duncan later on in this season for the episode, Dunkin Duncan. * The pupils on the face for one salt van are actually pieces of tape. * In the book adaptation, Diesel and the Troublesome Trucks, it is said for Diesel to have crashed in Bulstrode the barge. Goofs * In the first scene, Clarabel is facing the wrong way. * One of the workmen who comes to rescue Henry is tilted. * At Tidmouth Sheds, the buffers behind Thomas are resting on top of the rails. * When Diesel pushes the trucks back, his side rods are going forwards. * In the close-up of Diesel going in between the trucks bragging to them, studio equipment is visible on his left. * Diesel starts with three trucks and adds four more, but the narrator says he starts with five. * After shunting the trucks, Diesel runs on the third line, but he should have travelled on the first line; the next scene shows the third line is blocked by the trucks. * After the trucks shout "Push! Push! Push!" steam is seen going into Thomas, indicating reversed footage. * When the Fat Controller looks down at Diesel, there appears to be a rip in his suit. * When Diesel gets very cross that he cannot pull the trucks, his face moves slightly when he rolls his eyes. * During the final scene with Thomas and Percy, both of their roofs are crooked. * When the narrator says "then fifteen," Diesel jumps backward from one spot to another, indicating a film cut. * When the trucks sing "Push us all, that's the longest!" the cattle truck has a dented roof. * When Henry leaves the docks, the leading two trucks are cattle trucks, even though two vans were in front of them when Diesel had shunted them all together. * In the first shot of Diesel at Brendam, he passes the cruise ship moored at the docks. But in the next shot, he passes it again. Also the trucks are arranged differently in the two shots. Merchandise * Books - Diesel and the Troublesome Trucks * Magazine Stories - More Mischief! and Sodor's Strongest Engine In Other Languages Home Media Releases * Thomas and Friends Volume 6 THA * Thomas and Friends - Volume 21 (Thai DVD) TWN * Thomas and Friends Volume 4 }} es:La Locomotora más Fuerte del Mundo he:הקטר החזק בעולם ja:せかいさいきょうのきかんしゃ pl:Najsilniejsza Lokomotywa na Świecie ru:Самый сильный паровоз в мире Category:Series 6 episodes Category:Episodes Category:Direct-to-Home Video